4G explained: A guide to LTE, WiMax, HSPA+, and more

If you’ve seen or heard an ad about a cell phone or wireless plan lately, you may have noticed that a lot of new buzzwords are being thrown around. Words like 4G, LTE, and WiMax seem to have replaced the last set of words we barely understood: 3G, GSM, and CDMA. But what does it all mean? Is it all a bunch of marketing nonsense or are these words you should know and understand? We’ve got the scoop in our official mobile broadband FAQ.

Read on to learn what 4G is, why you should want it, and which carriers and devices are already pushing forward into the next generation of mobile data where your phone’s Internet may actually run faster than your home Wi-Fi. And once you’ve learned about 4G networks check out our picks of the best 4G cell phones.